Kimchi premium
How much more (or less) Bitcoin costs on Korean exchanges than on global ones.
Last 7 days
Last 7 days: average +0.92%, high +0.98%, low +0.86%.
Last 30 days
What is the kimchi premium?
Korean won can't move freely in and out of Korean crypto exchanges, and foreigners generally can't open accounts on them. Because arbitrage between Korean and global markets is hard, prices on Korean exchanges such as Upbit can drift away from global prices. When Korean prices are higher, traders call the gap the kimchi premium; when they're lower, a βreverseβ or negative premium.
Historically the premium has spiked during periods of intense Korean retail buying β in early 2018 it famously exceeded 40% β and it often turns negative when Korean demand cools. A sudden jump can signal unusual local demand; a collapse can signal the opposite.
How Kimchi Desk measures it
Every 5 minutes: premium = Upbit KRW-BTC price Γ· (Binance BTCUSDT price Γ USD/KRW) β 1.
The USD/KRW rate is the official reference rate (updated daily), not the crypto market's own dollar rate.
We also publish the USDT premium β the price of USDT on Upbit versus the official exchange rate β which isolates how much of the gap is simply the cost of moving dollars into Korea.